For more than 60 years, APM Hexseal has specialized
in resolving environmental sealing issues affecting
electromechanical switches and circuit breakers, originally
for the U.S. military and then the broad industrial and
commercial market place. APM's IP66/68 ingress rated seals
meet MIL-DTL-5423, UL Recognized RoHS and DFARS Compliant.
Millions are in use throughout the world by over 200,000
customers, many in the harshest environments imaginable. APM
also specializes in the development of a wide range of
reusable, high pressure self sealing fasteners and washers
used extensively in panel and enclosure sealing
applications.

What's Inside:

What�s Inside provides complete product teardowns of some
of the best selling consumer products on the market today. Each
teardown includes full details of all the components, as well as
link to their datasheets.

Samsung Galaxy Tablet 7.7
LTE(Samsung)Apple dominates the tablet market to date. In fact, the
iPad still �is� the tablet market and accounted for somewhere
between 60 to 70% of tablet shipments in 2011. Samsung comes in a by
no means close second at a mere 5 - 10% of the 2011 market. However,
it is the only other serious player in the segment, with the second
largest share. <br /> <br /> Samsung tablets have the
advantage of huge internal breadth of supply, especially as the
supplier of the key 'SuperAMOLED' technology from Samsung (different
from generic AMOLED) in that it integrates 'on cell' touch
technology that helps decrease overall thickness, and should
ultimately be more cost effective. Samsung is clearly a competent
hardware manufacturer, but unlike with their smartphone products,
they have not as yet overtaken Apple by any means in volume
shipments in the tablet segment. Cracking Apple's product
desirability code is an elusive goal for all competitors. <br
/> <br /> The Galaxy Tab serves two purposes - to offer a
smaller alternative to the Galaxy 10.1" tab at a lower price point,
but it is also probably a strategic preemptive move to be in a
market niche that Apple is widely rumored to be looking at attacking
with a ~7" version of the iPad expected later in 2012. Two versions
of the Galaxy Tab (3G and 4G) exist for different markets. This one
is an LTE model from Verizon for consumer use in the U.S. <br
/> <br /> The Galaxy Tab 7.7 is the 5th Galaxy Tab that
Samsung has produced and is the thinnest and lightest of the series
while maintaining high battery capacity; it features LTE wireless
connectivity. It is the first sub 8" diagonal Galaxy Tab to feature
1280x800 resolution, and has the fastest processor to date (1.4GHz
with 8Gbits (1GB) of DRAM on top). It weighs in at 335 grams and is
less than 8mm thick, with the usual stable of expected features
beyond the SuperAMOLED HD resolution display, which includes full
802.11 ab/g/n, Bluetooth, and a 3MP rear camera, complemented by a
2MP front-facing camera module. <br /> <br /> The Galaxy
Tab 7.7 is the first application for an HD ~7" format SuperAMOLED
display for Samsung. It also has the fastest Exynos processor (4210)
applied to date in Galaxy Tab products, and also features the latest
amount of DRAM (8Gbits/1GB) to support it. Most of the choices of
parts and vendors are unsurprising and are recycled from other
Samsung Galaxy products. <br /> <br /> Tablets have
become a popular consumer item and most designs, such as this, are
aimed at the mass market. Furthermore, the smaller size is typically
an attempt to offer a lower entry point for consumers, though many
may simply find the smaller format more portable and therefore,
practical. <br /> <br /> Initially unveiled at IFA 2011,
in the U.S., Verizon carries the Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE for a 'full
retail price' of $699.99 and a two-year contract subsidized price of
$449.99. There is a Wi-Fi version of the product that retails for
less. There is also a global (3G) version that retails for $649
USD.

MULTIMEDIA

eeTechBriefs:

Video:

Rice researchers invent paintable
batteryScientists at Rice University have developed a technology
that transforms household items into lithium ion batteries.: What if
a battery�s layers were paint-based and could be applied to almost
any surface by simply spraying it on? This would no doubt open the
realm of possibility for simple technology to become something much
more fascinating. Well, the scientists at Rice were able to do just
that by placing foils of aluminum, copper, graphite, and lithium
compounds within layers of paint which, in turn, would stick to
glass, plastic, ceramic, and metal surfaces. The paint-based
battery�s layers breakdown as follows: the first layer consists of
single-walled carbon nanotubes; the middle layers are made up of the
cathode, polymer separator and anode; and the final layer is the
negative charge collector made from a commercially accessible copper
conductive paint. Before application, the battery area is vacuum
dried, soaked in an electrolyte (which the polymer separator absorbs
completely), and then sealed with a polymer laminate. After
completion, the lithium ion battery is only 200 microns thick:
equivalent to the width of two human hairs.

Students Show Off Their
RobotsFriends and classmates got together to cheer one another
on as they put to show everything they learned in their recently
concluded �Experimental Robotics� class at Stanford University.: Two
of the highlights were bots able to play games: one could play
snooker � a variation of billiards � while another was taught how to
play carrom � a game that pretty much combines billiards with
shuffleboard. Students controlled the bots from a nearby keyboard,
and every time a shot was made � or carrom deemed successful �
cheers erupted all around the room. "We saw robots are almost better
than humans because they can do precise calculations of the
direction, the impact location," Khatib said. There were also a
couple of robots capable of creating art, with one sketching out the
famed Stanford logo, while another etched a relief of the symbol
into wax. Also highlighted was a mobile helipad entirely controlled
by a robot. The team�s goal was to try and create a robot that could
bring a helipad to a remote-controlled helicopter. Some of the
challenges put in place for this particular bot: the speed that the
helicopter came in for the landing, how steady the helicopter was
flying, and the position it needed to be in so that the robot could
�catch� it.